


Tumblr Headcanons

by J_L_Hynde



Series: MYSME Tumblr Scenarios [6]
Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Ask Box, Gen, Mystic Messenger - Freeform, ask box promts, great gastby au, headcanons, more tags as I think of them, mysme headcanons, rfa reactions, superpower au, tumblr headcanon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-18 00:14:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13088400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J_L_Hynde/pseuds/J_L_Hynde
Summary: A collection of headcanons from my tumblr blog.





	1. RFA reacts to Superpowered MC

**Yoosung Kim:**

  * He knew it! See Zen, he knew he wasn't making it up!
  * There was always a little something off about MC. He first noticed it when he visited her apartment and saw the dozens of boxes of sneakers lining the wall of her living room. She said she was a shoe collector, but all those shoes were cheap sneakers with sale stickers marking them down by 50%.
  * Then there was the way she would carbo load on calories. It was like she was always eating. She told him it was because she was on the college track team. & he would've believed that if he hadn't seen her single-handedly devour six large meat lovers pizzas on her own then wash it down with a liter of phd. Pepper.
  * & there were a bunch of other little things. Like how she didn't have a car & always left the apartment late for class, but miraculously managed to make it there before he did when he left on time. Or how her hair was always messy, almost as if she'd stuck her head out of an open car window. Or how it only took her a 30 minutes stuffing envelopes for an RFA fundraiser when it should've taken hours for the 400 + guests they had attending.
  * He kept writing all this off as coincidences. But he knew. In the back of his mind, he knew there was something not adding up.
  * He didn't find out exactly what it was until their one year anniversary. MC was running late. Her class ran longer than anticipated, so Yoosung decided to use the key she’d given him and set up a romantic dinner in her apartment. He was in the process of removing the stir-fry from the stove and onto two plates when a door slammed and there was a rush of wind. He whipped around so fast to see two shoes flinging themselves across the living room to the entryway.
  * WTF?
  * Then MC’s bedroom door opened and closed so fast that he only realized it happened by the sound. He acted quickly putting down the wok and grabbing at metal spoon he went over and grasped the handle.



 

  * __[Dontbeaghost. Dontbeaghost. Don't.be.a.ghost…!]__



 

  * He threw open the door and that's when he saw it. A blur or something. It reminded him of a tornado moving about the room, throwing clothes, pulling open drawers. It only lasted 30 seconds before it stopped. 
  * He gasped. “MC?!”
  * “Yoosung?!” She stumbled backward in shock.
  * “What? How?”
  * She tried to play it off, but he wasn't having any of it. 
  * “So you're a superhero?”
  * “No. Superhero implies that I help people with this… I’m just fast.”
  * Dinner consisted of MC telling him all about her ability. She explained that all the shoes were because she wore them out so quickly. The binge eating was to keep up with her extremely high metabolism. 
  * “Please don't tell anyone about this.”
  * “I won't.” 



**Zen |Hyun Ryu:**

  * **SHE IS A LITERAL DRAGON.**
  * Okay so maybe not ‘literally’ a dragon. But Zen had no doubt that she was a dragon in a past life. Probably one that pissed off a wizard & as punishment was forced to live out her next life as a tiny human woman. 
  * “But Zen!” Seven protested, “that's a serious accusation! This is a free country. You can't accuse people of being dragons without proof! Everyone is human until proven a giant fire-breathing reptile in a court of law!”
  * & they think he doesn't have proof?! **B*TCH PLZ.**
  * She’s hot. Like physically hot. Like someone better call the fireman or the ambulance b/c no human person should feel like they're running a fever all the time. 
  * She's so warm that everyone in the RFA has used her at a space heater at some point in time.
  * & respectively she has used all of them to cool down w/ this slow realization that the tiny Bunsen burners she calls hands have been placed on them.
  * MC laid next to him in bed and her tiny body gave off so much body heat that HE HAD TO TURN ON THE AIR CONDITIONER! IN JANUARY. **JANUARY!**
  * She puts things in her mouth that are TOO HOT
  * Humans cannot eat things that are the SURFACE TEMPERATURE of the F*CKING SUN!
  * She asks him to reheat her coffee in the microwave. “It's too cold…” & he’s like there is a SH*T-LOAD OF STEAM rising from the cup. 
  * & it's not just temperature. He's seen her eat a whole bag of Ghost Pepper corn chips. Those things are coated in actual battery acid. LIKE HOW THE HELL?
  * She hates summer. LIKE SHE PHYSICALLY STARTS MELTING. There is sweat everywhere. It's like she walked out of a sauna.
  * Apparently it the only heat she can't take.
  * She loves the cold. LOVES THE COLD. Ice. Snow. Standing in a **FREAKING SNOW STORM IN A PAIR OF DENIM SHORTS?!**
  * NO ONE LIKES IT THAT COLD! Unless of course, MOTHAF*CKING DRAGONS!!!
  * No wonder she hates the tropics b/c dragons don't live in the tropics. They live on of the top of snow-capped mountains in caves! 
  * “It's too hot,” she says for once.
  * “It's like 70 F*...”
  * “We should move somewhere North,” she says.
  * Of course Zen loves all these things about her. & even though he knows there's something different about her, he doesn't push it.
  * & it's not until he proposes that MC finally opens up w/ the truth. 
  * “Wait, Zen. I need to tell you…”
  * “That you’re a dragon.”
  * “What? How did— I mean no, I’m not a dragon obviously. But how the hell are you so close?”
  * Turns out that MC is in fact NOT a dragon. But is a legit firebender from ATLA.
  * He still calls her his dragon though. 



**707| Luciel| Saeyong Choi:**

  * He’s not too sure when he noticed it.
  * Perhaps it was when he was doing a background check and noticed some strange things about MC’s medical history.
  * Or maybe it was when she accidentally cut her finger while cooking, but when he came back with a bandaid she wasn’t even bleeding. Who knows really. All he knew was that something wasn’t quite right.
  * There were a lot of situations. Accidental cuts, bruises, things that should’ve left a mark but didn’t. And he started to wonder if maybe she really was an alien from space.
  * It wasn’t until MC was in a car accident, that he found out the truth. It was a bad one. She should’ve died. And yet, he didn’t find out about it until long after it happened and MC came walking into the bunker, her clothes drenched in blood.
  * “WHAT HAPPENED?! R U OK? OMG!”
  * He’s super worried, almost on the verge of a panic attack. 
  * “WE NEED TO GET YOU TO A HOSPITAL!”
  * “No hospitals,” she told him. “I’m fine, Saeyoung.”
  * “WTF? NO, YOU ARE NOT FINE. LOOK AT YOU!”
  * And that’s when she told him about her healing ability. Apparently, she couldn’t get hurt. Cuts, bruises, stab wounds, car accidents—none of it left a mark. She instantly healed from all of it.
  * “But doesn’t it still hurt?” He asked.
  * “Not so much anymore...I guess I’ve gotten used to the pain.”
  * He still doesn’t like it though. If anything knowing has made him even more anxious for MC’s safety b/c now he realizes that she has a blatant disregard for her own wellbeing. 
  * “I don’t see why it matters if I get hurt,” she said. “It’s not like I won’t heal from it.”
  * “Because! I hate seeing you get hurt. Even if you do heal.” 
  * She constantly has to reassure him that she’ll be okay & that she won’t do anything reckless every time she leaves the house.
  * But at the end of the day, he’s grateful that MC has that ability b/c if anything were to happen he knows that she’d be okay.




	2. Great Gatsby AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So for the past week or so I’ve been obsessed with F. Scott Fitzgerald and his writing and have been systematically been listening to audiobooks of all his novels and short stories. And tonight while driving home from work, I thought of this story idea. (Which I can’t write right now. B/c I’m too deep into a Reset AU.)

**Daisy Buchanan ~ Jaehee Kang**

I know, they look nothing alike. But hear me out. Daisy in the book seems like a flighty person, but you can’t deny that she has certain wittiness about her. (i.e. “I hope she’s a fool --that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”) And like Daisy, Jaehee is lost in life. She’s in a job she doesn’t like, but she doesn’t know how to leave until MC comes along and shows her that she can do whatever the hell she wants. 

You can probably guess where I’m going with this, so my next character is no surprise.

**Tom Buchanan ~ Jumin Han**

Jumin is a freaking cinnamon roll and I love him to pieces. But he’s a bit of an asshole in Jaehee’s route let's be honest. Blame his upbringing, blame his father’s endless string of women for his lacking empathy. Whatever it is, he has many similarities with Tom in the book. Both are from upper-class families. Both have issues being empathetic. And both are known stoic silent types. Neither of them are bad guys, in fact, they both want to be liked by the people around them.

**Jay Gatsby ~ Zen/ Hyun Ryu**

If you haven’t guessed this, I would be surprised. Who's a better rival for Jumin than Zen? I mean these two fight all the time so why not. Gatsby and Zen have a lot in common too. They both come from middle-class families, they both started out with nothing, and they both made something of themselves from nothing. Also if you don’t think 1920s Zen is a bootlegger, you’re fucking crazy. 

**Nick Carraway ~ 707/ Luciel Choi**

This was hard for me to decide. I struggled with making him Nick and Meyer Wolfsheim. I see similarities between both of these choices, what with 707’s Agent work and being a hacker and Wolfsheim rigging a World Series… (That’s so Seven btw!) But I choose Nick b/c he’s the impartial-third-party, the observer. & if you take the reset theory as canon (which I do.) 707 is the impartial-third-party. He’s not the main character but has to sit back and watch all this tragedy happen. 

**Jordan Baker ~ MC**

Now, this is my favorite character in the book. I see a lot of people don’t talk about Jordan b/c she’s not really seen a whole lot in the story. But she’s awesome. A female golfer, a party girl, and she don’t give a shit what anyone says about her. And like Nick she’s not the main character, she’s barely even a love-interest for him, but she also has to sit back and watch this whole thing unfold and be powerless to change anything. 

**Meyer Wolfsheim ~ Vanderwood**

Legit this is Vanderwood. Honestly, I can see Vanderwood being some head honcho of some pretty illegal shit in the 1920s. Also I really just love the idea of a Zen and Vanderwood Bro-mance. No one knows much about Wolfsheim, just like we don’t know much about Vanderwood.

**Myrtle Wilson ~ Rika**

B/c she gets run down by a fucking car! haha...

Okay, serious now. Neither are satisfied with their lives. Both are constantly chasing imaginary rainbows at the cost of themselves and the people around them. They are selfishness at their core. They both destroy a caring and loving fiance/husband in pursuit of selfish desires. There is no one else in the MM cannon that can be Myrtle. 

**George B. Wilson ~ Unknown/Saeran Choi**

I know you thought it was gonna be V, didn’t you? Ha! Psyche. No matter how I looked at this V couldn’t Mr. Wilson b/c I honestly can’t see him gunning someone down in cold-blood. And he’s blind so how’s that gonna work? The person I can see killing though is Saeran. Mr. Wilson in the book is this gentle quiet person, that is until Myrtle is killed. And then he loses his sanity and goes on a rampage. In both cases, Rika and Myrtle were the catalysts for both men losing their minds. 

**Mr. Gatz ~ V/Jihyun Kim**

Poor poor V. Poor poor Mr. Gatz. These two have such a sad story really. I don’t think I can really put it into words. But V’s always been like a father-figure to Zen so in this AU I’ve made him Zen’s father. 

…

Wait where’s Yoosung? I’ve gone through the whole character list and there’s no Yoosung. What? No. I needed to fix this. But I really didn’t know what character he should be. And then I remembered.

**Puppy ~ Yoosung Kim**

I know as a fandom, we make too many Puppy-Yoosung jokes. But I’m being serious here. The puppy in the book was something Tom got for Myrtle from a street vendor. And the more I thought about this, the more it fit Yoosung perfectly. Rika plucked him out and fed him all these lies about herself and the world so much so that he couldn’t really live without her. Out of all the RFA members, I feel like Yoosung was the most blinded (What about V?) mentally to who Rika was. And I feel like if he ever learned the truth he still wouldn’t believe it. And just like that sweet little puppy, Yoosung is clueless about this whole story. Just like he was clueless about Rika’s mental illness and V’s death and Mint Eye. 


	3. The Talk (a.k.a MC & Saeyoung with kids)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If MC and 707 have kids I imagine something like this happening.

It was a joke.  Saeyoung swore by it. And if MC ever asked that was exactly what he was going to say. 

But the thing that he did not anticipate was that was that their kid would overhear said joke. 

~ “How do you make kids ?”~

“What?”

~ “What ?”~

Of course , he panicked b/c  sh *t their kid shouldn’t have been asking these questions yet. They were only 5. & MC –Oh god, MC! If she knew that he let this slip in a sex joke he made toward  Saeran …  **_ Nononono _ ** … **SHE WAS GONNA KILL HIM!**

~ “Daddy ?”~

_** Abort.abort.abort . Error_7-0-7, you done f* ck up.  ** _

“Umm…ah…well…mmm…” 

Come on, think! If  Saeyoung wasn’t standing in a spo tlight between his kid & Saeran , (The latter of which was laughing into his fist instead of helping him, the bastard!)  he would be banging his head against the wall for his utter stupidity.

Never before had he so desperately wished for a time machine. 

& suddenly an idea struck. A brilliant idea befitting a genius such as himself…

“What’s that?!” He yelled & pointed his finger behind his kid. 

~ “Huh ?”~ The kid stops & turns to where their father was pointing. 

Which is when  Saeyoung took the opportunity to hightail it the hell out of there. (He could’ve left a smoke trail behind him, he left so fast.)

* * *

** (Bonus!) **

~ “Mommy, how do you make kids ?”~

PFFTTTTT! “WHAT?!”

It was the spit-take of year really.  Phd . Pepper sprayed at across the table & hit  Saeran in the face. Hilarious! & Saeyoung would’ve snapped a picture of it if MC hadn’t fixed him w/ the deadliest glare he’d ever received. 

“Honey…” MC smiled from beside him. “What have you been telling our child?”

“N-Nothing, nothing at all.”

~ “That’s not true. Daddy said that beating the main boss in LOLOL took less time than it did to make a kid …”~

“Did he now?” 

~~_ (RIP  Saeyoung .) _ ~~


	4. RFA Body Insecurities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has body insecurities and the RFA are not an exception.

** Yoosung Kim: **

If we ’ re being honest here, this boy actually has quite a few insecurities. He doesn’t like it when people perceive him as a child, understandably b/c he’s a grown-ass man. So  Yoosung’s body insecurities revolve around the traits that he feels makes him seem younger.

He’s too short.

He has a baby face.

He’s neither toned nor athletic.

His eyes are too big. They make him look like a starry-eyed kid. 

Part of the reason  Yoosung dyed his hair was b/c he thought blond would make him seem older. But in reality, it just made  Saeyoung call him Goldilocks. (He  absolutely hates that nickname. )

~ “But I like your blond hair. And your smooth skin. And how you’re not that much taller than me…”~

MC would proceed to go on a 10 min long tangent on the 101 things she loved about  Yoosung whenever he would start to voice these negative thoughts out loud. Which admittedly made him blush and also a little smug that she thought he was more attractive than Zen.

** Jaehee Kang: **

Jaehee doesn’t really spend a whole lot of time nitpicking her body. She doesn’t have the time to spend. But if you were to sit down & ask her what her biggest insecurity was she would say it was her breast. 

Yeah, that’s right, her boobs. 

But even then it’s less of  a body insecurity and more of a pet peeve. 

Jaehee was blessed/cursed w/ an ample bosom. But that meant that she was fairly top-heavy and trying to find work blouses that didn’t show too much cleavage was an absolute nightmare. And don’t even get her started about bra chaffing and boob sweat, especially in the summer… Ugh!

She really envies MC sometimes b/c in comparison she’s so flat-chested. She can even get away w/ not wearing a bra under some dresses. If  Jaehee tried that she’d probably throw her back out from lack of support, not to mention people would notice. 

~ “ If they bother you that much,  Jaehee , I’ll fully support you if you decide to get a reduction.”~

MC really worries about her. She can only imagine how much strain lugging that extra weight around puts on her back.  And to even think about running up the stairs…ouch.

** Zen/Hyun  Ryu : **

 

It’s hard to believe that anyone as perfect as him has a body insecurity. Like really? How?

Zen is perfect. He’s got that almost symmetrical face, killer cheekbones, toned biceps and abs that  Jaehee has been quoted of wanting to eat ice cream off of, while MC claims that they’d make a good cheese grater for nachos… 

But everyone has body insecurities, even Zen.  (Although it is very hard to believe.)

His insecurity was actually a surprise to MC. & it should’ve been considering how he went on & on about never getting pimples. That was a big fat lie. Everyone gets pimples, handsome musical a ctors not excluded.  But  Zen never got pimples on his face.  Which meant that he got them other places.

As a teen, he had a case of horrible back  acne which left numerous scars littered across his shoulder blades. The majority of them are faded now, barely noticeable to the naked eye. Thankfully w/ the help of acne skincare & taking better care of  himself the problem cleared up. 

But that doesn’t mean that he still doesn’t get a few zits now & again. 

~ “I can pop them for you, Zen- Oppa .”~ 

Zen is convinced that MC is an angel b/c who in the world would offer to pop someone’s zit. He’s just glad that she  chooses to love him, scars & all.

** Jumin Han: **

Jumin’s insecurity is fairly obvious if you know what to look for. Fortunately, most people have no idea what to look for & he seems like such a distant person that most wouldn’t know where to start. 

Perhaps his distance is brought on b/c he rarely ever smiles. Even MC was puzzled by it b/c while he smiled at her a lot,  Jumin never truly smiled. Like a wide-grin-pearly-teeth kind of smile. & MC found out why after a mishap in the kitchen involving a bag of flour & Elizabeth III. (An accident where she tripped over the cat & a bag of flour  poured out over her head after she landed on the floor.)

“MC  are you alright?”

~ “Oh I’m fine. I’m just doing my impression of Lucille Ball.”~ 

Jumin & MC had been watching the famous sitcom of I love Lucy that week & they had just seen the episode w/ the flour gag the day before & the comment struck  Jumin as hilarious b/c he laughed. & not only did he laugh, but he smiled –a true-face-splitting-grin!

MC saw it immediately, the slightly crooked tooth.  Jumin quickly realized his mistake & schooled his expression to neutral. 

~ “No. Don’t hide from me,  Jumin . I love your smile…”~

MC leapt up from the floor & threw her flour-covered arms around his neck. 

 

~ “You’re so handsome when you smile.”~

“MC, you’re getting flour all over the floor…” 

~ “Come on,  Jumin-Oppa , let me see it again. Please…”~

Jumin would be unable to resist smiling at the sight of flour-covered MC giving him the puppy-dog eyes. & then the second he caved MC would beam up at him then pull him forward to plant a quick peck on his mouth.  Thus resulting in flour streaks on his face & hair.

~ “There. Now we both need showers.”~

** 707/ Luciel / Saeyoung Choi: **

As you can imagine  Saeyoung has quite a few scars from his work w/ the agency & growing up w/ an abusive drunk of a mom. But one scar, in particular, stands out among all the rest.

It’s a deep, jagged scar that runs along the top of his forehead by his hairline. It stands out vividly in his memory b/c it was the one time his mother had actually done the responsible thing, taking him to the hospital after lobbing an empty beer bottle at his head. There was so much blood at the time, but  Saeyoung could only ever remember his brother’s horrified face & him wailing at the top of his lungs. 

& years later after he left that place, that scar reminded him of his failure as an older brother to protect  Saeran from that sight & his inability to take him w/ him when he left. He keeps it covered w/ his bangs so as not to see it when he looks in the mirror. 

When MC learns of this scar she hugs him tightly & kisses his forehead. 

~ “I’m so glad you’re here.”~

** Unknown/ Saeran Choi: **

Like  Saeyoung ,  Saeran also carries a lot of physical & emotional scars. But his body insecurity is tied more toward his emotional scars than it is to his physical ones.

He hates his tattoo.

It’s a reminder of every wrong action, every day he spent in Magenta following the Savior & hating his brother. Not to mention the things he tried to do to MC…

Really  Saeran just tries not to think about it.  & he keeps the ink hidden under long-sleeved shirts & sweaters. But there are times when he’s getting dressed that he just stops & stares at his shoulder for a good couple minutes.

It’s MC who suggests going to a tattoo parlor & getting it altered into something new. 

~ “That represents the old you, but you’re not him anymore. You’ve changed,  Saeran . So let’s get changed to reflect that.”~

 

** V/ Jihyun Kim: **

Being blind alters your perspective on a lot of things. Besides the obvious being blind part.

Before he lost his vision, V had been self-conscious o f a mole he had on his right butt cheek. But after losing his sight, he came to the realization that appearances were meaningless in the grand scheme of things. 

That being said, he still gets embarrassed when MC playfully coos over how cute the little beauty mark is.

“M-MC, don’t kiss me there…”

~ “Aww… Jihyun-Oppa you’re just too cute!”~


	5. The Cultist AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was a request I got for an MC who went through Mint Eye like Saeran. (Spoilers for 707's route)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Warning: This Headcannon references kidnapping, drug abuse/addiction, physical/emotional/psychological trauma. Basically, any horrible thing I can think of when getting sucked into a religious cult. Please read at your own discretion.)

MC did not intend to join a cult. At least that was not her main motivation. She didn’t wake up one morning & say to herself, “Today’s the day. Today’s the day I’m  gonna join a cult.” Nope. That did not happen.

Instead, the actual process of joining  Magenta was far more gradual.

At the time MC was dating this guy. He was your kind of new aged, punk gothic, drummer in rock band & the young & naïve person she was, thought she was in love. Of course , she should’ve recognized the sign s . He was a little too fanatica l & smoked a little too much weed. 

So, one day he comes to her & he tells her that he wants to take her to paradise. MC not fully understanding the meaning thinks that he’s talking about church or something. (She was very  very naïve.) 

Hell, she had no problem going to church. It wasn’t like she was super religious or anything, but she knew enough about  Christianity & she wasn’t going to knock it until she tried it.

MC though is not a guidable as she seems. She immediately sensed something was off when her boyfriend took her to the warehouse district by the shipping port.  “This is paradise? I’m not too sure about this…”

“Come on, Babe. I promise everything will be fine. Let’s reach enlightenment together…” 

Warning bells were going off in her head. MC felt nervous, panicked. But she trusted her boyfriend. She trusted that he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her. How foolish she had been.

He took her to one of the warehouses. He even had a key. He looped an arm around her back  & lead her inside . The warehouse itself was nothing out of the ordinary. There were rows upon r ows of metal shelves packed w/ various wooden crates.

She followed him down one of the aisles to the center of the warehouse. There a group of people in black cloaks were waiting for them. MC watched nervously as her boyfriend bowed his head to one of the black figures & accepted one of the black cloaks.

“I-I’ve…I changed my mind. I don’t want to come to paradise. I’m sorry…” MC started to back away from the gathering before her boyfriend grabbed her wrist.

“ Shhh , …it’s okay. MC this is scary I know, but the truth will set you free. Enlightenment will free you from the chains of our corrupt society…”

MC tried to push him away, but his hold on her was too strong. “I want to go home… Someone HEL –“

 

MC tried to get away. She did. But she was outnumbered & outweighed tenfold. The black cloaks surrounded her & she was yelling  & crying & swinging her fists every which way. The last  conscious thing she remembered was a prick on the side of her neck & her boyfriend’s voice saying, “We beseech you oh Savio r, help us bring this lost soul to paradise…”

MC woke up in a tiny cell-like room on an uncomfortable cot w/ a killer migraine  & a parched throat. She was confused & disorientated. 

“So it moves…” A scratchy voice startles MC  into a sitting position. Across the cell, half bathed in shadow sits another woman about MC’s age dressed in a hospital gown w/ greasy matted hair & sickly pale skin. 

“Be you friend or foe?” The stranger asks.

“F-Friend…”

MC stops & looks around at the room. “Am I dead?”

The stranger’s response is curious. “To be dead, one must have been alive.” MC has little time to react before the woman jumps from her cot  & pushes her back  to the wall, grabbing a fistful of hair & smelling it.

“Where am I? Who are you?”

*Sniff* “You are human?!” The strange woman exclaims excitedly releasing her hold & scooting uncomfortably close to her face. “I was human once!  I did not care for it very much… ”

“What are you now?”

“At times, I’m fish…when the water is dripping. Paradise is a terrible place to be human,  ya know?”

“W-Why is that?”

The woman leans forward  & presses her mouth to the side of MC’s ear. “You are a very pretty fish. Pretty fish have pretty eggs , they won’ t need  Sang hee anymore … hahahaha !” The woman pulls back  & throws her arms out wide gesturing to the room. “Witness your Manifest Destiny!” The laughter is more than unsettling, but the electronic buzz of the door that cuts it short is more foreboding.

“You are fish.” MC’s jabs a finger at her, the points to the door, “They are the fishermen.”

MC watches as the woman slinks back to her cot & curls up in the fetal position in the corner, rocking back  & forth as she  sings. “Hunting time for little fish. Go and swim away from here.  Pretty fish of breeding sort, swim  swim swim . ~ Pretty fish have good eggs .  Sang hee is rotten fish, pond scum –NOTHING!”

“Eggs? Breeding?! No.  Nonononono …” MC tried to find a way out of that room. But there was only one door & each second  Sanghee kept sing ing . 

“~Pretty fish, pretty eggs. Rotten fish, rotten eggs.~”

“I AM NOT A FISH! I’M NOT A FISH!” MC yells at the woman. She screams these things over & over as two cloaked figures enter the room & forcefully drag her out before one plunges a 

 

syringe into her neck & it’s lights out.

They called it Enlightenment. But in reality, it was this new pharmaceutical drug that  Magenta was testing on people. It had the addictiveness of heroin & the side-effects of  Prozac. It was supposed to be a mood stabilizer, but  Magenta was using it to brainwash their following & MC was no exception.

It’s kind of amazing that MC managed to hold on to even a shred of her sanity as she was  subjected to numerous test & psychoanalysis & electro-shock therapies. But by the time they were finished MC had become one of the Enlightened. 

MC’s position in the cult was lowly one. She was to act as lure & guide prospective lost souls to paradise. What that entailed was that she was to make numerous personas for herself on Online dating apps in order to bait people. She was to use whatever means she had at her disposal to  have them fall in love w/ her. There was only one rule: Don’t get attached to them. (Apparently, that was  Sanghee’s fatal mistake. She got attached to one & tried to betray paradise. & MC knew first-hand what happened to those that try to leave paradise. )

MC quickly learned what to say & what not to say to lure new followers. & it wasn’t long until she was in the top  4 of her  respective job group. 

One day,  her superiors called her up & asked, no ordered her, to report to the main headquarters of  the organization . “The  Savior  wants to meet you,” They had said & gave no further explanation.

Before that point, MC  had only ever heard of the Savio r in passing. No matter who she talked to only the elected elite of  Magenta were privy to the information of  who the Savio r was. & an even more elite few  had actually even seen the Savio r face to  face. So, the fact that the Sav i o r was asking for her –her , one of the lowest followers on the totem pole was absurd. 

Rika had certainly been the last thing she was expecting. MC always thought that the Sav i o r was  this big bad boss, like the kind she used to see on Japanese Anime shows when she was a kid . But instead, the Savio r was this dainty, stunningly beautiful woman w/ golden colored hair & sharp green eyes. She looked out of place in her baby blue sundress surrounded by a dozen or so cloaked figures.

Saeran is there too & besides Rika, he is the only other person who is not w earing  a cloak. 

MC feels a little out of place & a little too vulnerable standing in a room of strangers completely naked. Fortunately for her, she’s not the only one standing in the room completely naked. There were three other women there as well. (A blonde w/ shoulder length bob & icy blue eyes, A red head w/ wavy locks & bright green eyes, A  sun-kissed woman w/ black pixie- ish hair & equally dark eyes, & then her waist-length brown hair w/ soft honey colored eyes.)

Rika goes down the line  & examines all four of them very closely.  Poking & prodding, lifting their arms & squeezing their flesh. It’s very similar to  when judges go down the line at a dog show & carefully examine each contestant.  MC must’ve won whatever beauty contest was being held b/c when Rika came to her she stopped & tilted MC’s face up to meet her own. 

“ Saeran what do you think?” Rika called out  grabbing MC’s face  & tilting  it  toward the man in question. “She’s very pretty… Innocent looking too, don’t you think?”

 

Saeran eyes didn’t linger on MC’s  bare flesh like the cloaked  figures did. He took a moment & seemed to s eriously consider what the Savio r was asking. “She’ll do.”

MC ended up getting recruited for a very important Pilgrimage. (That’s what Rika called it.) She would work closely w/  Saeran & lead some very important lost souls to paradise. The Savio r needed her very specific expertise in order to gain the trust of the other RFA members. “Your kind eyes will work in your favor.  Saeran will be only a stone’s throw away if you need additional guidance. I thank you for your subservience.”

“Anything my Savior asks of me, I shall comply. I live only through my Savior’s will.”

MC took an instant liking to the RFA members. They were charming & kind & they made her laugh.  It had been such a long time since she felt so carefree & for a little while, MC could almost believe the lies she was telling.

Saeran & MC would  meet up every day so MC could give in status reports & Saeran could administer her daily dose of Enlightenment.  They would meet at a park that was not too far away from Rika’s apartment. 

Saeran didn’t talk to her much at first & MC was a little intimated by how he looked. It was only on day 2 that they started to kind of get along. It was  bright sunny day & the sky was  a crisp clear blue & dotted w/ several white fluffy clouds.  Saeran was sitting on a park bench, looking up at the expanse of blue. He looked deep in thought & MC didn’t want to disturb him, so she sat down beside him & watched the clouds.

“You know when I was little, I used to imagine that clouds were big mounds of cotton candy. I used to spend hours imagining what it would taste like to eat them…”

“What did you settle on?” MC honestly didn’t expect  Saeran to respond to her.

“Melon. But it wouldn’t be like Watermelon or Cantaloupe. It’d be Honey Dew. It would be so soft and fluffy and it would dissolve in your mouth like warm honey…”

Saeran laughed. Well, it wasn’t really a laugh more like a snort, but MC took it as a laugh. “It’s a bit silly, huh?” 

On Day 3, MC brought  Saeran lunch. When he asked her why. She said, “I just made a little extra and I thought you might like something homecooked instead of takeout or food from a microwave…You have to eat a good meal at least once a day,  ya know?”

After that MC started bringing lunch to  Saeran every day. They would eat mostly in silence, but MC would sometime s babble on about some random thought or other. She worried that she might be bothering  Saeran , yet he never said anything  to shut her up. 

Saeran always finished the food she gave him & he never complained. But MC wanted to make something that he would like. “Hey,  Saeran ? Do you have a favorite food?”

“No.”

“Really? You can’t think of anything?”

“No.”

“So there’s nothing that you used to eat when you were a kid that you really loved? I know my mom used to make these wicked peanut butter cookies. But she never wrote down the recipe, so I’ve never been able to make them myself…Are you sure there’s not anything?”

Saeran remembered how  Saeyoung used to make grilled cheese sandwiches when their mother was on one of her drunken benders. It was the only thing that his older brother could cook  w/ o ut burning down the kitchen. “Grilled cheese…”

“Grilled cheese? Oh, I used to eat those too! It’s been a long time since I’ve had one. I’d dip mine in a warm bowl of tomato soup. Did you ever try that,  Saeran ?  It’s really good…mmm, Grilled cheese and tomato soup. Just thinking about it makes me want some!”

The next day MC shows up  w/ grilled cheese sandwiches  & hot thermos of tomato soup.  Saeran doesn’t say anything in terms of a thank you. But he seems to appreciate the gesture. & for a second MC thought she almost caught a small smile on his face when she spilled soup on her jeans. It was the first time she saw him make that expression & she thought that it made him look so carefree.  ‘If only he could be that way all the time…’

Saeran started to slowly warm up to MC during the first week. He wasn’t so  closed up & even started to talk a little more. What was supposed to be 15-minute meetings turned into 30-minute lunches which turned into hour-long conversations. 

By Day 7 , Saeran realized that he was actually having fun –a word that had previously been so foreign to him.

He started to feel conflicted about that syringe in his jacket pocket. MC was so nice. She might have been the first person to show him any genuine kindness. & how was he repaying her? By pumping her  w/ drugs every afternoon? 

By Day 9, MC started talking to him about her life before Magenta. “Hey,  Saeran ? Do you like paradise?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“I was just wondering if you ever missed anything from your life before. You know, I’m the youngest in my family. I have 3 older sisters. We used to fight so much growing up…I was thinking about them today.  Jin , she’s one of my sisters, had just found out that she was pregnant  when I came to paradise. I was going to knit her a baby blanket…But that didn’t happen.”

“Do you miss them?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I miss them a lot. It’s been over a year now and sometimes I wonder what they’re up to.  Jin probably had her baby by now. I wonder if it’s a boy or a girl? What do you think it is,  Saeran ?”

“How would I know?”

“Guess. Personally, I’d really like if it was a boy. I’d always wanted a little brother, but my parents weren’t  gonna have 5 kids.”

“ Then a boy, I guess.”

Rika called  Saeran back to Magenta headquarters later that day. She asked him how the mission was going, they talked about her plans for the RFA members. But when she to ld him what was to happen to MC once the hack was complete  Saeran had to pause. “Savior, I’m not sure I 

 

understand…MC”

“Oh, it’s MC now? You’re not by any chance getting attached are you,  Saeran ? MC will have no further use to Magenta once this mission is complete. She’ll be  a liability…”

“But why does she have to…”

“Why are you fighting me on this?  Saeran , sometime s sacrifices must be made for the greater good. Think of it as MC’s sacrifice that will bring your brother back to you. It will bring all the RFA members home and  you  can finally have a proper family. You’ll be surrounded by people who love you and we won’t ever leave you again. I pro mise that this is for the best. You understand, don’t you?”

“Yes. Whatever my Savior asks of me, I shall comply.” But those words felt hollow to him for the first time in years.

It’s this conversation w/ Rika that really puts  Saeran in a place to break orders. He doesn’t recognize his feelings at this time, but there’s an inkling there. & subconsciously, he already knows that he cares for MC much more than he’s probably cared for anyone. But right now, he just doesn’t want MC to die.

O n day 10, when he returns to Rika’s apartment  & breaks in through the window he does it hours before he was supposed to. “Come on, we’re leaving. Pack a bag.”

“Isn’t it a little early?” MC had climbed out of bed & was hurriedly stuffing her clothes into a suitcase. “I thought this wasn’t supposed to happen until Seven was able to trace the hack. Wasn’t that the plan?”

“Plan changed. We’re leaving now. You got everything?”

“Yes.” 

MC is really confused, but she follows  Saeran’s instructions b/c that’s what she’s supposed to do. However, when just as they were about to leave the apartment MC’s cell phone rings. “It’s Zen.”

“Answer it.”

This is where the late-night phone call from Zen’s route comes in.

After that call, if finished, MC leaves the phone on Rika’s dresser & makes her way out of the room. But  Saeran stops & pockets the device as he follows her out. As it turns out he left a short message for his twin inside the code. “ Saeyoung , if you want to save MC, you need to act now. Trace her cell phone & you’ll find what you’re looking for. Get her out safe, you at least owe me this much. –S.C.”

It basically become s a race against time to see whether or not Seven & Vanderwood can get to Magenta HQ & save MC before she’s killed. Luckily for them, MC isn’t immediately shot on site. But rather she’s passed off to see Dr. Kim, who likes to experiment with followers that are deemed unnecessary/liabilities, which gives them a little more time. But not much b/c MC can’t really hold out under that kind of torture.

When Vanderwood & Seven arrive there’s where the stand-off between Rika, Saeran, & V. Basically, it’s the ending that takes place in 707’s route. Then Saeran leads Seven & Vanderwood to the hospital wing that MC’s being held. There’s another struggle w/ Dr. Kim, but he’s easily overpowered.

Seven & Saeran have a kind of heart-to-heart moment where  Saeran tells him to go that he’ll stay behind & make sure they get out. But Seven refuses to leave his brother again, not when he just got him back. 

& Vanderwood’s standing off to the side totally & wholly done w/ this shit. So he  tasers Saeran , throws him over his shoulder, & says. “Okay, You’re brother’s coming… CAN WE F * CKING GO NOW?”

They end up taking  Saeran and MC to a private hospital. (Of course,  Jumin’s fronting the bill.) Where they explain the whole story to the other RFA members. 

It takes a couple days for MC to wake up. Partially b/c of the overdose of Enlightenment in her system & also b/c she had to be sedated after trying to break out of the hospital & attacking some of the doctors.

But once all that is settled & MC learns that she’s officially not in danger anymore, she calms down.  Detoxing from Enlightenment takes a couple weeks & in that time MC doesn’t see  Saeran once. She only knows that he’s in the hospital b/c she asked  Seven & he told her.

It was 5 days in the hospital that MC gets some unexpected visitors. Apparently, Seven did some digging & was able to get in contact with MC’s family. & MC’s 2 older sisters,  Jin & Joobin , that were living in Seoul dropped whatever they were doing & rushed to the hospital.

It was one of those tearful, hallmark channel, soap-opera-y family reunions. & then over the course of MC’s hospital stay the rest of her family cycles in.  (This includes MC’s mom & dad,  Jin’s husband & son, MC’s other sister  J ooeun . They’re a very close-knit family.) & of course, the RFA memb ers end up meeting all of them.

MC’s mom & dad spent a good 20 minutes thanking Seven for bringing their daughter home. & They ask if there’s anything they can do to repay what he’s done for them. Does he need money  or help w/ anything? Seven keeps  insisting that he  didn’t do all that much & no he won’t accept any money for helping a friend.

Then MC’s parents pretty much give Seven their blessing right then & there, if he decides he wants to marry MC.

“Mom?! Dad?!” MC is blushing profusely, trying to smother herself w/ a pillow b/c she just wants to die from embarrassment.  Joobin’s in the corner laughing & making kissy noises until MC chucks a pillow across the room & nails her in the face.  (Yep, just your typical family stuff.)

It’s not until the night before MC is supposed to be discharged that she  finally got to see  Saeran . & it’s not b/c he came looking for her, but b/c she got fed up w/ him not coming to see her. & if he wasn’t  gonna come to her, then she would go to him. 

MC snuck into  Saeran’s room & closed the door behind her. It was already far past the time for the patients to be asleep, but  Saeran was wide awake staring out the window at the night sky. MC thought that the moon’s glow from the window made him resemble a ghost as she walked over to the bed.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”  Saeran didn’t turn his attention away from the window. 

 

MC sits down beside him on the bed & stares out the window.  “I wanted to see you. You didn’t come visit me once & I thought before I was discharged tomorrow…”

“Why? Why are you doing this, MC? Why are you being so nice? Don’t you get it? You should be mad. You should hate me. Why aren’t you yelling at me? I put you here. You’re in this hospital because of me. It’s my fault you were almost…”

Saeran can’t finish that last sentence. 

“ Is that what you really think?  Saeran , I could never hate you…I-I think –I mean you saved me  Saeran . You. Saved. Me. You did the one thing I didn’t have the guts to do. You defied the Savior. I could’ve never done that. I’m so grateful, thank you. Thankyou. Thankyou. Thankyou…”

MC grabs  Saeran’s hand & squeezes. “I’m alive because of you,  Saeran . You’ve done so much for me and I just wanted to tell you this in person. I don’t hate you, I lo–I mean, I want to help you the same you the same way you helped me.”

Saeran doesn’t know what to say to any of this. He barely knows what he’s feeling toward the whole situation. & he’s still firmly in denial about his feelings toward MC. But he does not deny her when she asks to hug him. “Everything’s going to be okay now. I’m going to help you, okay? I promise.”


End file.
